Peru and the US are strengthening the fight against organized crime

Aiming to create an elite force to dismantle transnational criminal organizations operating in Peru, more than 300 Peruvian National Police (PNP) officers will receive training from the US Department of Homeland Security (HSI), the Peruvian government announced.

“Given the constant increase in organized crime and drug trafficking in Latin America in recent years, the effectiveness of this cooperation with the United States is fundamental,” said Fabián Calle, Professor of International Relations at Argentina’s Austral University. Dialogue on April 14.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte announced on March 22 that PNP forces will form a Transnational Crime Investigation Unit (TCIU), which will be trained by US agents.

The TCIEs, an HSI program, consist of vetted and trained foreign law enforcement officers around the world who work closely with HSI to investigate and prosecute individuals involved in transnational criminal activity.

“The TCIU will have an arsenal of exceptional resources to confront and dismantle foreign mafias that pose a threat to the stability of the country.” Las Americas reported daily. “Among the cross-border crimes that need to be addressed include drug trafficking, illicit trade in precious minerals and extortion.”

Dispute between criminals

This is reported by the Peruvian news agency Andinathe police officers will work closely with the HSI, which will be responsible for training them in specific tasks against organized crime groups. The PNP, which currently has 135,000 law enforcement officers, faces an increasingly challenging scenario characterized by violence and contract killings, for which US support is significant. Las America reported.

“Criminal organizations in Peru are feuding with Colombian organizations for the status of top cocaine producers,” Calle said. “The production of narcotics in Peru and Bolivia, and some of it from Colombia, is mainly intended for Europe and the markets in our region.”

This is reported by the Argentinian news site Infobaethe HSI instructors who will train Peruvian police officers have essential information and specialized skills to confront transnational criminal groups.

The candidates chosen by the PNP to integrate the first generation of elite TCIU operatives have high levels of education and ethical courage, impeccable service records and have passed polygraph tests. Infobae reported.

Main enemy

According to InSight Crime, an organization that investigates organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, Peru, like other South American countries, is concerned about the growing presence of the Tren de Aragua, the largest criminal organization in the country. Venezuela.

During his presentation to the Peruvian Congress on April 3, Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén said the government will also strengthen the PNP’s Special Group against Organized Crime to combat the Tren de Aragua and its factions, which “are today the main enemy of society shapes”, to eliminate. Correo reported

“By December 2024, we expect to carry out 160 special operations, allowing us to dismantle at least 80 gangs and criminal organizations,” Adrianzén said.

The Ecuadorian criminal gangs Los Choneros and Los Triguerones are also active in Peru and try to control ports in the north of the country for reasons including drug trafficking and illegal mining, Peruvian daily newspaper El Comercio reported.

“Organized crime has made a significant quantitative leap in Latin America,” Calle said. “An example of this is the crime rate, which has made Latin American cities among the most unsafe in the world, in addition to generating corruption, violence and political destabilization in the region.”

The Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IDEHPUCP) of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru warned of the increase in crimes endangering vulnerable sectors.

“The (Peruvian) Amazon and environmental defenders are at permanent and growing risk,” the IDHPUCP indicates. “The country started 2024 with the murder of 33 defenders of its territories and forests, committed by organized crime, increasingly linked to illegal gold mining.”

The TCIU program

In September 2023, the HSI and the Peruvian government signed a memorandum of cooperation in the fight against transnational crime, marking the beginning of Peruvian participation in the TCIU program, the US Embassy in Peru indicated. HSI Deputy Director of International Operations David Magdycz and PNP Commander General Jorge Angulo signed the agreement.

“Faced with these international, hemispheric, regional and national realities, one of the greatest challenges for political and social elites is to confront the crimes of the countries with international security agencies,” Calle said.

HSI’s International TCIU program began in September 2011 and has more than 600 international law enforcement officers vetted and trained in 15 locations across North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia .

The TCIU identifies targets, collects evidence and shares intelligence in collaboration with international partners to investigate and prosecute individuals involved in transnational criminal activities that threaten the stability and national security of the region.

“Criminal networks know no borders. The only alternative for democratic countries is to jointly create effective networks to combat them. That is why the training and input that the United States can provide to the security forces of countries in the region is decisive in the fight against organized crime,” Calle concluded.